Weber County kids start rolling up their sleeves, getting vaccinated
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- Claire Quick preps Drew Johnson, left, before giving him a COVID-19 vaccination shot at a clinic at Highland Junior High School in Ogden on Monday, Nov. 8 ,2021. Behind them are health care workers Adrian Wilson, in blue, and Sameka Howard, in pink.
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- Claire Quick injects Richard Fryer with a dose of COVID-19 vaccine at a clinic at Highland Junior High School in Ogden on Monday, Nov. 8, 2021.
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- Claire Quick prepares to inject Abigail Johnson with a dose of COVID-19 vaccine at a clinic at Highland Junior High School in Ogden on Monday, Nov. 8, 2021.
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- Sameka Howard, a registered nurse, prepares a COVID-19 vaccine at a clinic geared to kids aged 5-11 at Highland Junior High School in Ogden on Monday, Nov. 8, 2021.
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- A sign encouraging masking is pictured at Highland Junior High School in Ogden on Monday, Nov. 8, 2021, during a COVID-19 vaccine clinic.
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- Claire Quick injects Drew Johnson, left, with a dose of COVID-19 vaccine at a clinic at Highland Junior High School in Ogden on Monday, Nov. 8, 2021.
OGDEN — Vaccination of kids aged 5-11 has started in Weber County and those getting shots expressed a measure of relief and indifference.
“I’m happy because I don’t have to wear a mask anymore,” Luke Barley, 7, said Monday after getting the first of his two-dose COVID-19 vaccination regimen at Highland Junior High School in Ogden.
Richard Fryer, 10, was there because his dad, also Richard Fryer, brought him. He didn’t say much, but his dad said he’s mindful of the pandemic, and when it came time to get the injection, the process unfolded without a hitch.
“He knows what’s going on and whatnot,” the elder Fryer said. Young Richard Fryer is the last in his family of seven to go through the vaccination process.
Last week, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a recommendation, long-awaited by many, that those aged 5-11 get vaccinated against the COVID-19 virus, joining those aged 12 and up. Monday was the first day of clinics open to the young set and they appeared at several locations scattered around Weber County, sleeves rolled up.
Lori Buttars, spokesperson for the Weber-Morgan Health Department, reported a mix of kids and older folks getting booster shots at a clinic Monday hosted by the health department at its Ogden offices. Expanding the pool of people who can get vaccinated to those aged 5-11 adds “one more layer of protection” against the virus.
Jenny Olsen, spokesperson for Nomi Health, which handled the vaccinations at Highland JHS and other Weber County schools, reported steady turnout. Elsewhere in Utah, she said, vaccinations of those aged 5-11 started over the weekend.
Vaccination efforts geared to kids are scheduled at several schools this week in the Ogden and Weber school districts. Nomi Health is handling the vaccinations, open to all ages, with online registration at getmyshot.utah.gov/mobile, though walk-ins are also allowed. The Davis County Health Department on Monday also started vaccinating kids 5-11 at its drive-through clinic at the Legacy Center in Farmington.
‘WE TRUST THE SCIENCE’
One young child at Highland on Monday express reticence about getting vaccinated — “Please, please! I don’t want it!” — but, comforted by healthcare workers and family, ultimately got his shot and survived. Others were more willing, citing the ability, once fully vaccinated, to toss aside the masks they’ve been wearing to guard against contracting the virus.
“We trust the science,” said Bridget Johnson of North Ogden, who brought her two young kids, Drew, 11, and Abigail, 9, to get vaccinated. “We made an appointment as soon as we could.”
Connor Teasdale, 10, said getting the vaccination was “pretty cool” and his younger brother, Sean Teasdale, 8, echoed that. They were at Highland with their mother, Raechel Teasdale, a nurse.
“I do feel cool, too,” Sean said. On top of that, he went on, he barely felt the sting of the needle.
More information on vaccinations is on the Weber-Morgan Health Department website, webermorganhealth.org.
Kids aged 5-11 are getting the Pfizer vaccine, specially formulated for their age group. They’ll need two doses of it, same as adults.
